WISDOM KEEPER 2019

FOCUS convenes a free public forum each month on issues of immediate and long-range concern in Central New York and beyond. Forums often are held in the morning on the third Friday of the month in the atrium of City Hall Commons, 201 E. Washington St., Syracuse. Click here for current forums.

Standing room only to talk with Police Chief Kenton Buckner at a joint Forum/Thursday Morning Roundtable on Feb. 7, 2019.

SPECIAL FORUM JANUARY 31, 2019

National Grid provided the setting for a special Forum Jan. 31 with Onondaga County Executive J. Ryan McMahon and Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh. Registration maxed out for this event and filled the hall despite the snow and cold. This was a joint FOCUS and Leadership Greater Syracuse event with support from National Grid. Thanks to the Central New York community for the great interest.

Time and locations for Forums vary with events in some of the new meetings spaces available around Syracuse.

CITIZENS ACADEMY

The 2019 Class Sessions wrapped up Nov. 6, 2019, and were capped with a round-robin discussion at the Barnes Hiscock home.

Citizens Academy 2018 at the Barnes Hiscock home.

Each year FOCUS with Syracuse University offers an eight-week academy for people who live or work in Onondaga County and want to learn more about local government. The class meets each week with public officials to learn how decisions are made from those who have to make them. The dialogue over dinner is informative for both the citizens and officials participating. More than 400 people have graduated from this national award-winning program. LEARN MORE HERE.

TWO SPECIAL EVENTS IN JUNE 2018

The CNY-CAN collaboration established by FOCUS, SUNY Upstate Medical University’s Department of Geriatrics, Southwest Community Center, and HealtheConnections was host to Dr. Joe Selby, Executive Director of the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute Thursday June 14, 2018, at SUNY Upstate Medical University and for a FOCUS Forum on the importance of patients in the research process Friday, June 15, 2018, at Loretto. To learn more about these events CLICK HERE.

WISDOM KEEPER GARDEN 2018

WISDOM KEEPER PLAQUE UNVEILING May 25

Wisdom Keeper Sean Kirst joined FOCUS and previous Wisdom Keepers for the unveiling of the Wisdom Keeper plaque at the Wisdom Keeper Garden near City Hall and City Hall Commons.

Sean made the Wisdom Keeper celebration April 4, 2018, a very special event by honoring the people of Central New York who made his storytelling career possible. The Finger Lakes Ballroom of the Marriott Downtown Syracuse was the setting for this event in the historic Hotel Syracuse.

The Wisdom Keeper celebration has traditionally been the sole fundraiser of the year for FOCUS to support continuing programs such as the FOCUS Forums and Citizens Academy.SEE SPONSORS HERE.